ARACHNIDA. 467 



body to gauge the size and form of its nest. The Spider 

 first spreads a thin coating of silk as a foundation, taking 

 care to have this circular by turning round its body during 

 the process. It then, in the same manner, spins a raised 

 border round this till it takes the form of a cup ; and at 



1 , Spinnarets of Spider. 2, Extreme end of one of the upper pair of spinnarets. 

 3, End of under pair of spinnarets. 4, Foot of Spider. 5, Side view of eye. 

 6, The arrangement of the eight eyes. 



this stage of the work it begins to lay its eggs in the cup, 

 not only filling it with these up to the brim, but piling 

 them up above it into a rounded heap, as high as the cup 

 is deep. Here, then, is a cup full of eggs, the under half 

 covered and protected by the silken sides of the cup, but 

 the upper still bare and exposed to the air and the cold. 

 It is now the Spider's task to cover these, and the process 

 is similar to the preceding, that is, she weaves a thick web 

 of silk all round them, and, instead of a cup-shaped nest, 

 like some birds, the whole eggs are enclosed in a ball much 

 larger than the body of the Spider that constructed it. 



The feet of the Spider, one of which is represented at 

 No. 4, are curiously constructed. Each foot, when mag- 

 nified, is seen to be armed with strong, horny claws, 

 furnished with bent teeth on the under-surface, which 

 gradually diminish towards the extremity of the claw. 

 By this apparatus the Spider is enabled to regulate the 



HH2 



